“Pay much closer attention,” Scripture calls us, not in fear, but in hope. Because things than have drifted apart can be drawn together again, often through ordinary faithfulness that no one else sees.   My beloved is mine, and I am his. —Song of Solomon 2:16 No one enters marriage hoping merely to manage life... Continue Reading

Often the call of God on our lives will not be easy, or pleasing, either. Often it will incur anger, resentment and persecution. Our divine calling may well result in death. Of course, not all believers will be martyred, but all will experience some rejection, abuse, and contempt. Our Lord experienced this in full, and... Continue Reading

The biblical evidence is overwhelming. From the specific words of Jesus regarding “unquenchable fire” and “undying worms,” to the linguistic parallel of “eternal life” and “eternal punishment,” to the apocalyptic visions of Revelation where the smoke rises forever—Scripture consistently points to an endless state of separation.   The doctrine of hell has long been the... Continue Reading

This precious line of The Nicene Creed is one that comforts the regenerated saints of Christ’s church; and we should appreciate it with all our hearts.   The words (above) have been confessed by Christians since the fourth century AD. They are found in the middle of the third section of The Nicene Creed. All... Continue Reading

Christ is a complete Savior. He does not merely offer a theoretical salvation to the world, hoping some might accept it. He is the Mediator who was appointed to save a specific people, who satisfied justice for them, and who now applies that salvation to them with sovereign power.   In the first half of... Continue Reading

Reading the Bible is by its nature an encounter with divine speech, we should always therefore ask with the primary author of Scripture, Jesus, has to say about himself in every text that we read.   By this time, we’ve spent some time discussing what is strange about the text in question. We’ve got under... Continue Reading

Let us take full advantage of this gift [of song] from God. Let us stir our affections, inform our theology, and fill our souls with biblical richness so that we will be equipped in the day of temptation.   On December 4th, 1685, John Nisbet was sent to the Lord by the executioner’s hand. It... Continue Reading

The judgment will not annihilate God’s people; it will purify them. Yes, they will need to go through the judgment into exile in Babylon, but there will be survivors—a new city, transformed from faithless to faithful.   The beginning of Isaiah is like the whole book in miniature. On its surface, the book is a... Continue Reading

Our sovereign God gives good gifts. He gave us the gift of sexuality, and he gave us guidelines to use that gift for his glory. The greatest gift he gave us was that of his Son’s blood to remedy all our shame, which comes not from sexuality itself but from sin. The culture around us... Continue Reading

One cannot answer every confrontation question easily. Some decisions last for months and even years. Each time, our goal must be to discern wisely the right course of action. We will make sound decisions only if we sharpen our wisdom-saws regularly.   Before the Covid pandemic, I don’t recall using the phrase “decision fatigue.” Now... Continue Reading